Electric Car Sales Up 34% In France (#EVSales)

The French plug-in electric passenger car market scored 2,833 registrations in April, up 34% year over year (YoY), with plug-in hybrids continuing to grow faster than all-electrics (PHEVs +46%, BEVs +28%). Altogether, that pulled the market up by 20% in 2018, to 13,725 plug-in car registrations in the first trimester of the year.

Looking at April’s best sellers, the Zoe (+2% YoY) collected another win, while the runner-up Nissan LEAF scored 375 deliveries, up 98% compared to the same period last year.

A new face shows up on the monthly top 5, though, with the hot selling Porsche Panamera PHEV collecting its first top 5 presence, thanks to 90 deliveries, a new year best.

Model

Sales

1

Renault Zoe

961

2

Nissan Leaf

375

3

BMW i3

200

4

Mercedes GLC350e

122

5

Porsche Panamera PHEV

90

In a market known for its stability, the Mercedes GLC350e climbed one position to #4, with the 2018 top 4 now replicating last month’s ranking.

Other models on the rise were the Smart Fortwo ED and VW Passat GTE, both climbing one position to #7 and #8, respectively, while the Porsche Panamera PHEV leaped six positions into #10. With the #8 position not that far away, we could even see Porsche’s sports sedan climb a few more positions in the near future.

The forever-young Peugeot iOn scored 59 registrations last month (+16% YoY), allowing it to climb two positions, to #11, while the BMW X5 PHEV (69 registrations) had its best result in almost two years, allowing it to rise one position, to #18. And the Citroen C-Zero joined the top 20, now putting 10 BEVs into the top 20.

Below the top 20, there is a significant landing this month, with the Jaguar i-PACE registering its first 20 units, which means it beat the Tesla Model X’s score last month (16 deliveries) — a particular race that we will be following closely.

In the brand ranking, Renault (36%, down 1 percentage point) continues in the driver’s seat, as it has for years, followed at a distance by BMW and Nissan (both with 11%). Volvo is in the #4 spot with 6% share (up 1 percentage point), but is still far from the podium positions.

About the Author

Jose Pontes Always interested in the auto industry, particularly in electric cars, Jose has been overviewing the sales evolution of plug-ins through the EV Sales blog since 2012, allowing him to gain an expert view on where EVs are right now and where they are headed in the future. The EV Sales blog has become a go-to source for people interested in electric car sales around the world. Extending that work and expertise, Jose is now a partner in EV-Volumes and works with the European Alternative Fuels Observatory on EV sales matters.

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